Pauline Marois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pauline Marois | |
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MNA for La Peltrie
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| In office 1981 – 1985 |
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| Preceded by | new riding |
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| Succeeded by | Lawrence Cannon |
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| In office 1989 – 2006 |
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| Preceded by | Claude Filion |
| Succeeded by | Marie Malavoy |
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MNA for Charlevoix
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Rosaire Bertrand |
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Leader of the Third Party in the National Assembly of Quebec
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2007 |
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| Preceded by | André Boisclair |
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| Born | March 29, 1949 Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
| Spouse | Claude Blanchet |
| Residence | Île-Bizard, Quebec |
| Occupation | social worker, civil servant |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Pauline Marois (born March 29, 1949 in Quebec City) is the current leader of the Parti Québécois in the province of Quebec, Canada as of June 27, 2007 and Member of the Quebec National Assembly for the riding of Charlevoix, elected on September 24, 2007.[1] In a political career spanning some 30 years, she has held a total of 15 ministerial titles.
She is married to Claude Blanchet, former head of Quebec's Société générale de financement, and is the mother of four children (Catherine, Félix, François-Christophe and Jean-Sébastien). She currently resides in Île-Bizard on Montreal's West Island.
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[edit] Education and early political career
Marois holds a bachelor's degree in social work from Université Laval, as well as a master's degree in business administration (MBA) from HEC Montréal. During the 1970s she gained experience with several community organizations, before working as press attachée for then-finance minister Jacques Parizeau. She also served as chief of staff for Lise Payette, minister responsible for the condition of women, and taught for some time at Université du Québec en Outaouais.
Marois was first elected to the Quebec National Assembly in the 1981 election as the Parti Québécois Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for La Peltrie. She immediately joined the government of René Lévesque as Minister for the Status of Women. In 1983, she was promoted to Minister of Labour and Income Security and Minister responsible for the Outaouais region.
[edit] First leadership race
When Lévesque resigned as party leader and Premier of Quebec, Marois joined the race to succeed him, placing second behind Pierre-Marc Johnson. The PQ, however, lost the 1985 election, in which Marois also lost her seat. From 1988 to 1989, she served as vice-president of the party and chair of the PQ's national executive.
In the 1989 election, Marois was returned as the member for Taillon. She continued serving on the opposition bench, variously, as critic for industry and trade, public administration and the environment.
When the PQ returned to power following the 1994 election, Marois was appointed to the cabinet of Jacques Parizeau as Minister for Administration and the Public Service and, for the last few months of Parizeau's tenure, as Minister of Finance and Minister of Revenue. Once Lucien Bouchard succeeded Parizeau as Premier, he advised the Lieutenant Governor to appoint Marois his Minister of Education. She became Minister of Health and Social Services following the 1998 election.
The ascension of Bernard Landry as PQ leader and premier resulted in Marois returning again to the position of Minister of Finance. With the defeat of the PQ government in the 2003 election, Marois became the PQ opposition's education critic.
[edit] Second leadership race
She quickly started to organize her leadership bid following the PQ electoral defeat. Her close supporters founded Groupe Reflexion Quebec, which served as a think tank. Her key organizors were Danielle Rioux, Nicole Léger, Nicolas Girard, Nicole Stafford, Joseph Facal and Pierre Langlois.
Marois announced her candidacy in the election for the leadership of the PQ following the sudden resignation of Landry in June 2005. She won 30.6% of the vote placing second to André Boisclair.
Marois retired from the National Assembly in March of 2006, stating that after 25 years in elected politics it was time for her to pursue other interests. She vowed to remain active in the PQ, and reaffirmed her confidence in Boisclair's leadership. She was succeeded as MNA for Taillon by Marie Malavoy.
[edit] Third leadership race
In the March 26, 2007 Quebec provincial election, the Parti Québécois was reduced to third place in the National Assembly of Quebec, behind both the governing Quebec Liberal Party and the opposition Action démocratique du Québec. Following this disappointing result, PQ leader André Boisclair announced his resignation as leader on May 8, 2007. Marois was considered a leading candidate to replace Boisclair, especially following federal Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe's withdrawal from the race.[2]
On May 11, 2007, she officially announced that she would run again for leader of the PQ for the third time.[3]
No other candidate steped forward to contest the election, and Marois was acclaimed leader on June 27, 2007. She led the party from outside the National Assembly until winning the Charlevoix by-election on September 24.
- Further information: Parti Québécois leadership election, 2007
[edit] By-election
On August 13, 2007, Marois announced her candidacy for the riding of Charlevoix, after the incumbent, Rosaire Bertrand, retired from politics after 13 years as the MNA.[4] The by-election was held on September 24, 2007. Marois did not compete against a candidate from the minority governing Liberal party, which chose not to present an opposing candidate,[5] but did face Action démocratique du Québec candidate Conrad Harvey, who had been a candidate in the same riding against Bertrand in the 2007 general elections, and won with 58.2% of the popular vote.[6]
Marois's campaign signs displayed her image on a blue-green background along with the slogan: "Chez nous, c'est Pauline." Marois stated at the beginning of the race that she wished to reclaim nous, showing a return to the PQ's ethnic nationalist beginnings.[7]
Canadian tradition holds that in a by-election, a party leader without a seat runs unopposed by other major parties. Also, opposing party leaders traditionally do not campaign in the riding. Marois herself, however, campaigned for a PQ candidate in a by-election against Liberal party leader Robert Bourassa in 1985, as did PQ leader René Lévesque.[8][9]
While voter turnout in by-elections is generally low, 13.18 per cent of the 33,156 Charlevoix voters turned up at advance polling and an overall turnout of about 58%.[10][11]
[edit] House
According to a Montreal Gazette newspaper article, there were questionable actions on the part of Blanchet which led to protected agricultural land being rezoned to permit him to construct a residence, and to parcels of government land being appropriated by the couple for their own private use. Marcel Turcotte was said to have been paid $500 by an agent of Blanchet after he signed an affadavit to the effect that he had occupied an unheated building on the land (not far from his home) 50% of the time, thereby justifying the zoning change application under a grandfather clause.[12]
Marois' spokeswoman, Christiane Miville-Deschênes, did not explain if Blanchet held a contract or rented or paid charges on the public acreage and at what time and in what manner he received the right of way. According to the borough of L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève, only one area of all government-owned tracts in Île Bizard is rented, and that is a borough-run park.[13]
Marois confirmed in an interview with TVA news anchor Pierre Bruneau and reporter Paul Larocque, that one parcel of land belongs to the Quebec Crown, and denied having received a free pass on the acquisition of it. She also filed a complaint against the newspaper and, along with her husband, later filed a $2 million lawsuit against the Gazette and one of their journalists.[14][15]
Although it was initially covered at some length in the official PQ blog, all mention of the chateau scandal has since disappeared from their site.[16]
[edit] Leader of the Parti Québécois
Immediately after being named the new leader of the party, Marois conducted a major shuffle of the shadow cabinet. François Gendron was named the new house leader, replacing Diane Lemieux. Lemieux was offered by Marois the position of caucus chair, but refused and indicated her intention to resign her seat of Bourget.[17]
Marois stated that the project of holding a referendum on sovereignty would be put on hold indefinitely, indicating that regaining the support of voters for sovereignty would be her main objective.[18]
In September 2007, she proposed a strategic plan for helping the forestry sector, which has been hard hit in recent years by the closure of several mills in western and central Quebec. Measures proposed included an increase in protected forest space, an increase of productivity by developing the second and third transformation of wood and incentives to encourage the usage of wood from Quebec for construction projects.[19]
In November 2007, Mario Dumont, in which his party suggested the elimination of school boards, proposed a motion to topple the government in the wake of poor voting turnouts during the school elections on November 4, 2007. The PQ strongly rejected the motion along with the Liberals citing that it was a lack of judgment made by the ADQ leader. Marois added that she was open for a debate on the structural bases of the school boards.[20]
[edit] Bill 195
On October 18, 2007, Marois proposed Bill 195, the Quebec Identity Act, which included a requirement that immigrants must learn French in order to obtain rights, including a putative Quebec citizenship and the right to run in elections at all levels. The bill also proposed the fundamental values of Quebec should be taken into account in a future constitution, including equality between sexes and the predominance of French [21] [22]
The idea was met with criticism amongst various minority groups. The Quebec Liberal Party also dismissed some of the measures as divisive and harmful. House Leader Jean-Marc Fournier also made a parallel between the proposed bill and Jacques Parizeau's "Money and the ethnic vote" speech following the 1995 referendum, while Cabinet Minister Benoit Pelletier added that it would violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Many current and past members of the Parti Quebecois also rejected this proposal, including Bernard Landry. [23] [24]
Outside of Quebec, several newspapers described the bill as racist. [25] Don Martin, columnist for the National Post, wrote that the population should try to stop the racism taking place in Quebec. [26] However, while the vast majority of non-francophones are opposed, it was supported by a bare majority of francophones. However, the Liberals and the ADQ stated that they would defeat Bill 195. [27] [28]
[edit] Bill 101
In April 2008, Marois proposed a major rewrite of Bill 101, the French Language Charter in light of concerns of the decline of the French language in the province particularly in the Montreal region. Among her proposals included more French courses in elementary and secondary schools, the obligation for new arrivals of learning French and specific measures for some businesses, particularly small ones as well as more power for the Office de la Langue Francaise. [29]
[edit] References
- ^ [1]
- ^ TheStar.com | News | Duceppe drops out of PQ race
- ^ CTV.ca | Duceppe, Marois jump into PQ leadership race
- ^ [2]
- ^ PQ Leader Marois gets chance at assembly seat Sept. 24
- ^ PQ leader wins byelection in decisive victory
- ^ Looks like a cakewalk for Marois
- ^ Dumont campaigns against Marois, pulling political faux pas
- ^ globeandmail.com: National
- ^ Pauline Marois remporte la bataille - LCN - National
- ^ Looks like a cakewalk for Marois
- ^ Marois denies wrongdoing in Ile Bizard property controversy
- ^ Marois Deal not irregular: PQ
- ^ «C'est de l'acharnement à mon endroit!» - LCN - National
- ^ Pauline Marois et son mari déposent leur poursuite - LCN - National
- ^ PQ blog
- ^ Un caucus pour préparer la rentrée parlementaire - LCN - National
- ^ PQ leader to put sovereignty on backburner
- ^ Le PQ propose un plan de relance - LCN - National
- ^ [3]
- ^ Pauline Marois fait de l'identité son cheval de bataille - LCN - National
- ^ PQ bill supported by Francophones, condemned by Anglophones
- ^ Bernard Landry rejette le projet Marois - LCN - National
- ^ Pauline Marois maintient le cap - LCN - National
- ^ Hugo Fontaine. "Vives réactions des médias anglophones", Le Droit, October 27, 2007, p. 22.
- ^ It's racism- in any language
- ^ Le projet de Pauline Marois trouve des appuis - LCN - National
- ^ Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: Le grand fossé
- ^ Marois réclame une refonte de la loi 101 - LCN - National
[edit] External links
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jean Campeau |
Minister of Finance (Quebec) 1995-1996 |
Succeeded by Bernard Landry |
| Preceded by Jean Garon |
Minister of Education (Quebec) 1996-1998 |
Succeeded by François Legault |
| Preceded by Jean Rochon |
Minister of Health and Social Services (Quebec) 1998-2001 |
Succeeded by Rémy Trudel |
| Preceded by Bernard Landry |
Minister of Finance (Quebec) 2001-2003 |
Succeeded by Yves Séguin |
| Preceded by Bernard Landry |
Deputy Premier of Quebec 2001-2003 |
Succeeded by Monique Gagnon-Tremblay |
| Preceded by André Boisclair |
Leader of the Parti Québécois 2007-present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| National Assembly of Quebec | ||
| Preceded by New District |
MNA La Peltrie 1981-1985 |
Succeeded by Lawrence Cannon |
| Preceded by Claude Filion |
MNA Taillon 1989-2006 |
Succeeded by Marie Malavoy |
| Preceded by Rosaire Bertrand |
MNA Charlevoix 2007-present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
